HAD A SHOT: Jordan Farmar launches a long-distance shot at the final buzzer, but he missed and the Mavericks escaped with an 87-86 victory last night. The loss snapped the Nets' two-game winning streak.Jason Szenes

Maybe the Nets didn’t land Carmelo Anthony, but they found a way to gain attention and significance last night.

Reality TV stars Kim Kardashian and Snooki met and chatted after the third quarter in full view of a slew of photographers and the remaining 14,051 gawkers in the stands that again included Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov.

Sources later confirmed there was stuff also happening on the court where the Nets’ bid for not only significance but their first 3-game winning streak in two years fell just short because Dirk Nowitzki, frigid all game, got a bounce and a roll on his 7-footer with six seconds left as the Mavs, though tested for 48 minutes, outlasted the Nets, 87-86.

“I can’t jump that high, but I wanted to take a broomstick and punch it out,” coach Avery Johnson joked about the tantalizing end to Nowitzki’s winner.

And if that shot by Nowitzki (23 points) tantalized, the next sequence tortured. The Nets (12-32) wanted to run a play for Brook Lopez (24 points). It was to be delivered by Devin Harris (15 points, 11 assists).

It wound up going to Jordan Farmar, who hurled a desperation heave at the buzzer that was wide and short. Give him credit for even getting it off.

“I sort of short-hopped it and just shot,” Farmar said.

“Saw a couple of things. They switched the pick and roll. I had Brook open but couldn’t get him the ball clean. I tried my outlet with Jordan and the shot was left, a little short,” said Harris, who on the previous possession — with the Nets up, 86-85 — missed a 13-footer with Shawn Marion defending.

The Nets, who on three occasions trailed by seven in the fourth quarter, twice grabbed the lead in the end game. At 2:35, Sasha Vujacic bagged a left corner 3-pointer for an 83-82 lead. After J.J. Barea scored for the Mavs, Lopez made two free throws for an 85-84 lead that Harris upped to 86-84 with 1-of-2 free throws, a feat Tyson Chandler (19 points) duplicated at :35.2 to make it a one-point spread. Harris misfired, DeShawn Stevenson rebounded for Dallas at :20.1 and Nowitzki had one last shot in the tank.

“It’s difficult. We fought all four quarters, they made their runs, we made ours. Dirk hit a tough shot,” said Lopez.

Even with Nowitzki’s points rising despite an Arctic shooting touch, the Mavs could not shake the Nets and the third quarter ended tied at 68 as a prelude to Kim and Snooki doing their version of the Yalta Conference amid the Nets continuing to look at ease after recent history that had been, in a word, unsettling. Every day, there were rumors regarding Anthony and more than half of the Nets roster. Every day, there were questions. No day saw a reprieve.

Well, that makes one. Everyone, including the Nets involved, seemed fixated on the daily doings on the Anthony trade front. It was so bad, that Prokhorov, who flew in to douse the rumor fires Wednesday, told a Russian media outlet that the Nets “clearly gave up three-to-five games.”

But the Nets won both games after their owner’s nyet and again looked energized and purposeful. Had upper management known, maybe Prokhorov would have gassed all the trade speculation months ago.

“I know it cost us at least two weeks for sure just in terms of focus and game preparation. I was watching them before the games. We tried to mask it, we tried to camouflage it but it wasn’t pretty,” said Johnson.